Crystal River current., 1887-04-09
anoe of which would add immensely

ahce OF whfeh would add Immensely tC
the present lin ted amount of practical
righteousness and happiness. BY q
cash account is meant merely an ac.
count of money received and paid out,
and not bookkeeping as in business
l am aware that there is large class
of sensible and well-meaning persons
who would say; Il receive SO much
and try to save a little" Let me say
to such persons that by not knowing
exactly how they spend their limited
earnings they miss learning one of the
most important lessons OF life. The
habit itself of keeping accounts is a
good discipline; it is a lesson in memo
ry and order. and accuracy and busi-
ness methods. But more than this, it
teacEes one how to spend money. As
money represents the grenter part Of
what we do. and OF our relation to the
world, we do not know what we do,
nor how We are related to the world.
until we know how we spend our
money. To receive so much and spend
it for what we happen to need, and
make no farther note of it, is like
guessing at the time of day. We in
sist to the minute on the accuracy of
our watches, but how our income is
divided up is guess-work. 1t would
help man amazingly to correct esti-
mate OF his life # he knew accurately
how and when and for what he spent
his money. There is no other way in
which well-meaning man can proper
ly adjust this great. factor in his life.
BY an account. he can see how much
has gone into the several departments
of expenditure. and review of it will
show him whether he has been wise or
foolish. prudent or careless, true to
himself and family and society. or
whether he has been unequal or un-
generous or over-indulgent to any We
apply science, and close, accurate
methods to all forms of labor; why
should we rot apply them to the use
we make of the product of labor?
The poorer man is, the more he re-
quircs this habit of accurate accounts;
the less there is to vide, the more
need of care. He thus learns at the
proper moment where to retrcnch, or
in what direction he may wisely spend
more. II saves also much trouble and
dispute. Bookkeepers are not infalli-
Bile, and memory is Il poor witness
against them. but when books are kept
on both sides, misunslerstandn ng is
greatly lessencd.
The habit also has distinct moral
value. One who has rightly measured
human society will have u consc entious
sense of the use of money which is i'm
perative. and will approve or condemn
ones self accordingly. We could make
no better scrutiny of ourselves than to
take, at the END of a year, n carefully
kept account of money spent. and see
how it has been used: how much for
necessities; ow much for Injuries;
how much for self; how much for
others; how much for books; how
much for passing pleasures; how
much for the good of the world and
how much for the pride of life; how
much for the body and and how much
for the mind; how much wasted and
how much used. Tabulate these, and
then lay them beside your manhood
and standard of duty and purpose in
life, and see if they are sustained This
is part of that self-inspection-that
moral inventory of himself that every
man should make at least once year;
for we need not only an interior look
at ourselves. but one from the outside
and reflected by our conduct. Such
habit as this would help us in the field
of minor morals where we often make
our gravest mistakes. But aside from
this, it is habit that tends greatly to
simplify and smooth and straightcn the
details of life. 1t teaches prudence,
judgment foresight, and so creates an
atmosphere of dignity about the life.
For money and the money side of life is
to be treated respectfully and thorough
" and i'll high l.fe. busincss-like ways
even by those'who have little of it
Rec. ). Z. Munger. d. d., IN Golden
Rule.